Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Yes, you read the headline correctly: When it comes to the BCS title game between Tosu and LSU, Michigan fans should be pulling as much as they can for our Big 10 Buckeye brethren without triggering their gag reflex.

I know, they'll be even more insufferable than ever if they win, but the fact is, it's actually worse for Michigan if they lose.

It really is.

The Big 10 is still reeling from the losses suffered by U-M and OSU in last season's BCS games. Yeah, I know Michigan's nosedives against Appy State and Oregon didn't help, but the Big 10 had already been branded as barely a step up from a junior high touch football league as a result of the previous January's bowl games.

That's why Michigan fans, as painful as it is, should be pulling for OSU come January 7th.

And for all those folks getting ready to post their "You don't know anything about rivalries!" comments? Save it. I do. Trust me. But I also understand big picture thinking.

Look, an Ohio State loss isn't going to make Michigan better. It isn't going to suddenly erase the pain of our recent bowl stumbles and losses to the Bucks. Hell, we're going to be hearing about those November losses until we do something about them.

But a Buckeye victory - and a Michigan victory against Florida - would go a long way toward shutting up the rest of the country. Enough is enough. It's time for the Big 10 - which includes OSU - to step up and reclaim its rightful place among college football's elite.

95 comments:

I know I will be pulling for the Wolverines when you play Florida. I hope that we can shut the SEC out and shut them up for a few years. Thanks for the kind words and the support. Is Lloyd still coahcing the bowl game?

AMEN!!! For two days we can actually stand on the same side of the line and cheer for the Big 10. Its a tough pill for both sides to swallow, for sure. But hopefully we can turn around the view of the Big 10 and rub salt in the wounds of the SEC. Wonder what all the smug SEC-loving reporters would write about then??

By the way...very well said, Yost. Time for the Big 10 to be scary again!

I have no problem pulling for Michigan, I do it 364 days a year. Without a strong rival, we end up like ND-USC, it's just another game. The conference suffered a black eye last year and it was our two alma maters fault for that perception. It is time to make amends. If UM can play like the senior laden team they are supposed to be and tOSU plays like they did in every game but one, it will finally silence the detractors. Get busy, there is work to do.

IMO, the conference could go 2-6. If the 2 is us, then the SEC can't get on their soapbox and bitch. I think the conference will go 4-4, like most years.

i will not be pulling for OSU. i live in ohio so another title victory for them will be even worse. i don't give a damn about other people saying we have a weak conference. all i care about is michigan's winning. i can't stand osu and i will be the world's biggest LSU fan on that day.

I tried to root for OSU last year and that didn't go so well. Here is the thing about conference respect - until we are actually a threat for the BCS title game (and we have only seriously been one in 2006) whether or not the rest of the country respects us is irrelevant. To OSU (3 title games in 6 years) this stuff matters, but right now we aren't at that level. Damn that hurt to type.

It's going to leave a big gapping hole in my stomach, but the Vest is the Best....Hmmmm....

I think that Mr. Miles used us and I don't like it. I hope the Road Warrior Jr. rips the QB's head off and (I'll leave the rest out). I hope OSU's running back rams the ball up an uncomfortable spot in LSU's defense.

Anyways, I think you are right. No more SEC kool aid. Bobby Bowden's retarded son can go F himself.

The ONLY reason I'll being pulling for tosu is that, living in Florida, I only have to deal with a handful of buckeyes on a regular basis. Another bad Big Ten loss in the NC game and the SEC fans will be a thousand times worse.

Im a totally with dabrylon...I also live in Ohio and a national title win for them would be horriable, the stuff i have to put up with is sickening, like when the last time you won a title out right is the most popular, so i hope Osu gets crushed in the game, and michigan dominates so i can say we got the job done while they got blown out again, because frankly i dont think they deserve to be there!!! GO BLUE!!!!!!!

I would say they don't deserve to be there but then I would say that the only team that deserves to be there is Hawaii as they are undefeated. However, OSU does only have one loss vs. 2 or 3 losses for just about everyone else under the sun. So of all the punks, they are the least punk.

I will confess, the ripping the head off is not my line....but fits nonetheless.

This year in college football was like a U.S. Open golf tournament - incredibly tough with an unpredictable finish. Ohio State was the leader in the clubhouse - like that guy (whose name escapes me) in the 2006 U.S. Open who had to sweat it out until Mickelson had finished swallowing his 3-wood on the closing hole. They deserve to be there as much as anyone, I guess.

The ones who should be upset are Oklahoma and USC. I'm going to have to clean out my mouth with Draino after saying this, but Oklahoma just hammered the #1 ranked team in the country in their conference championship game.

Their two losses came on a last second field goal by a Sherpa at altitude and on the dreary Llano Estacado when they lost their starting quarterback early in the first quarter to a concussion. I hope I'm able to throw up later after that dose of Draino.

To me, USC has less of an argument - everybody's got injuries - but they still should be ranked ahead of LSU.

I thought losing late was the ultimate no-no in college football. LSU just lost 10 days ago to Arkansas! I generally think you're all a little paranoid about this SEC propaganda machine, but I'm beginning to see it a little differently after this.

Seeing as I live in Buckeye country and have hated them all my life I will still not be rooting for them. I won't be rooting for LSU either though. I will actually just not watch and not care about a game that I think is wrong in the first place. I will be watching the GA Hawaii game in the hopes that Hawaii whips the shit out of GA and can stake a claim to the NC. All the rest of the Big Ten I will be rooting for and will watch their games.

Only the short sighted would not root for OSU. The strength of the Big Ten real and perceived is very important to Michigan. You should root for all big ten schools whenever they play a non-conference opponent. And the truth is that you should root for any school in the conference that Michigan has yet to play during the season, that is why I oot for OSU in all games but the thrid week in November.

I'll root for tOSU to beat LSU by a slim margin... and hope that Hawaii blows out Georgia... or OU blasts West Virginia and the pollsters decide to split the title.

I was born and raised in Ohio... but escaped to "that school up north" and every year, I hear it. Even if tOSU loses big in the NC game and UM wins... tOSU still beat UM this year... and their fans will remind you of that.

I'm tired of listening to Mark May say how crap the Big Ten is... and praise the SEC as being by far, the toughest conference... and reading articles from Pat Forde on ESPN.com where he mentions App. State beating Michigan. The Big Ten needs a boost and wins by tOSU, UM, Illinois, etc. would go a looong way in restoring pride.

root for Illinois to beat USC (even tho we didn't)root for tOSU to beat LSU(because Les screwed us and if he can't beat Tressel we don't want him anyway)root for Wisco just because(or due to long-standing deep-rooted left-over Peyton Manning disdain)ANDof courseroot for Michigan to beat Florida(whom tOSU COULDN'T) :-)

I'm spilt, I really want Tosu to lose, as the many other ohioan's that are Michigan fans, it will be hell to watch tosu win another nc. The other half of me wants Tosu to win because its great for the Big 10 and to prove Miles sucks as a coach. ( Yes, I did support Miles at first, until I really watched him coach, hes awful)

It was just a short time ago that Buckeye fans were the personal punching bag for Michigan. Think John Cooper era.

So, I/We, know exactly what it feels like to be in your position. We never heard the end of it in the 90s and especially in '97 when UM won the NC. So, when you hear a tOSU fan spouting off, it's all that pent up anger talking.

Deep down most Buckeye fans have to admit they root for Michigan and have the UTMOST respect for them, all but one day. It couldn't be better to see it come down to #1 vs. #2 in 'The Game'. It's the way it should be!

Ummm.. rooting for tOSU to win the title game is like rooting against Michigan. If OSU wins a title game our recruiting will be limited to Detroit.... What Ohio kid will want to go to crappy Michigan when there's a national championship winning team in their state?

T9: Don't forget Indiana. Everyone outside of the Okie St. fanbase should be rooting for those kids in this game. It's a remarkable achievement any year that IU makes a bowl appearance, but this year it's just downright phenomenal.

"What Ohio kid will want to go to crappy Michigan when there's a national championship winning team in their state?"

jinxed,

I see your point. However, by stating it you also inadvertently state that Michigan is nothing without Ohio players. Ohio is a fertile field of talent, but you really don't believe Michigan is dependent on Ohio boys for success?

That kind of blows the "we're an elite program that draws players from around the country" mantra.

There is no way in hell I'm rooting for OSU. I hate them more than anything in the world. I respect them as an opponent and rival but that's as far as it goes. I live in Ohio and I know how bad it can get/has got.

I don't care about the Big Ten. We are a joke of a conference and because of Delany have a stronger hold over things than any one conference should. Since when does the best team from one conference beating the best team from another mean the former conference is better than the latter? If OSU wins, is anybody really going to believe the Big Ten is superior to the SEC? No. Top to bottom they're a better conference than the Big Ten.

The BCS is a joke. OSU didn't beat, or play, anyone in the top 20. They lost at home to an unranked team, barely touching the ball in the 4th quarter, yet somehow they get to play in the national championship, not because they won, but because other teams lost. Then Illinois gets to a BCS game, by default, when there are a number of teams ranked higher in the final BCS poll. This Big Ten/Pac Ten tie in is unfair and screwed up. What are there, like 5 BCS bowls (including the championship)? So logic should tell you to take the top 10, not play historic favorites.

Do I think OSU should get a chance to play for the championship? Yes, under a playoff format because there are too many teams who deserve a chance to go to the actual championship.

I'm tired of the Big Ten and the BCS. The Big Ten Network screwed most of us remember? Read the article by Dan Wetzel about the possible playoff setup. It’s pretty good.

The only Big Ten team I'll be rooting for is the team I root for everyday, and that's Michigan. It's time we stopped drinking the Big Ten "kool-aid."

Somebody made the point, root for Michigan to beat Florida, because OSU couldn't, that is exactly right! I root for anyone vs. Florida, especially a team from my own conference. The Bucks can get some revenge against Les Miles for you all, and you can return the favor against the GAYtors.

I really don't know if either of us will win the games, but I do know that it will be much closer than the talking heads would have us believe.

I don't care - I opt to stay with the other 'short-sighted' folk. I will never EVER root for the Bucks, even if my life depends on it. Seriously...you mean to tell me the rest of you have no problem seeing Sweater Vest hoist that crystal football in the air again? Are you out of your fucking minds??!!?

And don't jump on my shit. I GET IT - the Big 10 needs all the help it can get. I tell ya what...the REST of the league needs to start pulling it's own weight as well. I will be rooting for everyone else who has gotten into a bowl game; ALL but the scarlet and grey. Forever in my book they can suck it.

And Les, for that matter. I will choose to skip that game altogether. The rest of you can be bigger people than I, I'm totally fine with that. Just keep that OTHER 'big picture' in mind as well.

I understand your passion...based on experience. Yet, we (both heads talking) have come to appreciate a bizarre friendship with UMers based on the reality that we need each other. Without the intensity of "The Game" and all that goes along with it both fan bases would be marginalized.

Respect is forged in the trenches and the battle that is tOSU vs UM births passion, anger, bitterness, sadness, despair, happiness, pride, but most of all...respect.

Genuine respect for the opponent who forces you to become a better person or team conceives a weird friendship and that is why I like hanging out here and will be rooting for UM except for that one day each year.

IMO if you lose once again in the BCS NC game it will be 3 NC losses in a row for the mighty Suckeyes. (Counting the schlacking [sp?] from Florida's basketball team during March Madness.) Losing to Florida in two different sports in two different National Championships must have been rough.

I would like to bring up one crucial point to this whole "rooting allegiance" argument:

rooting for a team to win has somewhere between zero and no impact on whether or not they win.

that being said, there's not much point in arguing over who your rooting for, because either way, the games are going to happen the way they're going to happen.

If you really want to argue, wait until the games are over and then argue about why you're either happy or disappointed that OSU won/lost

So go ahead, root for who you want now and don't argue about it.....it won't change a damn thing when it comes to who will win the game. Wait till it's all said and done to bring up these points about B10 strength or you hatred of OSU or whatever.

Flaming idiocy hurled at the Big Ten in general for another year from Southern degenerates while we continue to post 2-3 teams in the top ten throughout the season and secretly scoff at national insults because the voting media still likes the Big Ten

Or

Flaming idiocy hurled directly at Michigan for YEARS by Midwestern degenerates who will obtain yet another National Championship that they do not deserve (Miami got robbed) while continuing to build some misplaced, 21st century "dynasty" right under our noses.

I know for a fact that Alabama, even if 1-10, does not give a crap about how Auburn's success aids their rivalry. It needs no aid. Its significance is not fueled by national permission.

I'll be there fully rooting for LSU. Rivalry is not something that is a priority once a year in November. Go on youtube and look at 100,000 rednecks cheer as we lost to App State. How many of them were "pulling for the conference"? I'm no sucker for a wolf in sheep's clothing. F*ck them.

i'm not sure about Hitler, but Jim Morrison definitely was :-). If you watch the "Doors" movie, in the very beginning when Jim is hanging out at the beach in LA, you hear "Hang on Sloopy ..." blasting in the background.

Totally agree. Big 10 comes first when it comes to bowl games. Sick of this Southern superiority claim. Theres a great post about it at Nittany White Out. Figured out theres 3 shots against the SEC this bowl season and we better take good advantage of them.

I think I'll wait until after our game with Florida to decide if I'm pulling for OSU. The only thing worse than being in a crappy conference is being in a crappy conference with the exception of Ohio State.

If we beat Florida, Go Bucks. If not, I'm looking for some schadenfreude!

I can't believe I'm about to agree with someone called "ohio guy," but trying to shame someone into rooting one way or another seems a bit pointless. I admit I'd rather see a tosu victory than another ugly loss, but "root" is probably the wrong word...more like, "would grudgingly accept." I can't actually envision myself cheering a tosu touchdown or groaning at a bad penalty or turnover.

And honestly, to try to shame someone into rooting this way or that based on some supposedly intellectual reasoning seems a little off--you root with the heart, not the brain.

It's entirely moot for me, I couldn't possibly be less interested in seeing that game. I can't imagine a less appealing NC contest. Maybe if they brought Urban Meyer and Charlie Weiss in as sideline reporters, and put Phil Fulmer in the booth.

to put in perspective for those M fans who don't live in Ohio or in close proximity to tosu fans, here's an email typical of the ones i have been getting since late Saturday nite-

"Fact is that a National title game without the Buckeyes is getting to be an oddity. I predict we win by a couple of touchdowns (Lou Holtz had this one right!) and next year will be the third appearance in a row and 4th out of 7. Tressel is just heads above the rest of the competition (only Stoops -- another Youngstown product -- comes close). Go Bucks!"

those of you citing "conference loyalty" and "dislike of Les" will please excuse those of us subjected to the inane, self aggrandizing endless clatter who beg to differ.

OK, truce. I'll pledge not to use scUM when referring to you guys until after 1/7/2008. I'll also refrain from displaying my "Go Blow" bumper sticker.

Circle the Big Ten wagons and root for all the B10 teams, especially against the evil $ec. Go Wolverines, On Wisconsin and Go Bucks. Good luck to the Hoosiers, Nits, Boilers and Spartans. Here's hoping the Illini drive Petey back to the NFL. 8-0 in bowl games

This thinking kills me. All the games that you would've had on ABC or ESPN were on those channels anyway. All the Big 10 network gave you was a chance to watch every other game possible. Know how cool it is to be able to flip over to the tOSU game when they're playing for the mythical State of Ohio title? OR catch Wisconsin in advance of us playing them? People who bitch about this are just ticked b/c someone else has something they don't. Seriously, w/the exception of those who cannot get satellite b/c the live in condo's, what's your excuse? Put down the Comcast kool-aid and start drinking the SEC kool-aid, at least they almost have an argument.

As for rooting for tOSU, I'll be trying to do so. I agreed with your logic Yost, I really do, but it's just so tough to root for them. Respect them, of course, but I always say I'm gonna root for them and then find myself cheering at miscues. I'll try though. I swear.

Okay, for those of you who don't want to root for tOSU, just think of it (and portray it) as rooting against LSU and/or Les Miles. I for one, will be rooting for the Big 10 all Bowl Season long, although even with a dominating performance against the SEC, I have a feeling that it's boyfriends(i.e. CBS and the rest of the media minus the BTN) will just chalk it up as a case of if you play someone enough times they're bound to get lucky once.

Well, just amongst us michigan fans, I think we're doomed. What this fiasco w/ Miles shows, IMHO, is Martin really meant that "cloning" Lloyd crap.

I think Brian @ MGoBlog nailed it. They're not looking for someone to come in & shake up the program/turn things around. They really think things are fine- we win enough games, go to a good bowl, & do it w/out scandal.

I fear that they have no interest in competing w/ tosu or usc, et al, in football in the modern era. They see us on a par w/ the Ivies & Cals of the world, and hiring a coach to change things is a risk to the things they value most: civil atmosphere & good reputation.

Maybe it's holiday depression, but I see a very mediocre, blah hire & 9-4 seasons becoming the norm. Tosu, having sold their souls to the new era, will explode as a powerhouse w/out any real challenge from us. It'll be the 50's all over again. After the snow bowl, we won like 2 conference titles until Bo arrived.

Watch- when the new coach is finally announced, we'll all either say "who?", or "what the f***?".

You make solid points as to why the Big Ten needs a bit of a facelift in public perception. Even after going 2-1 vs the SEC last year the main stage dictated the present.

So be it, I survived 2002, I can survive '07. In the ultimate year that "shoulda been" for Michigan, I can find serenity in having pwned the SEC in the bowl season. A perfect 3-0 would be a great offseason.

I hate waiting long periods between wins. So go bucks, Go Blue, Go Big Ten and pwn the SEC.

The Kevin Bacon is no less logical than Herbstreit twisting in the wind justifying why a 8 and 2 teams should get the nod for the National Championship over 1 or 0 loss teams.

I'm afraid that if they did go to a playoff conferences like the MAC, WAC, Conference USA, etc. would still get locked out of the picture for the most part. Unless all Conference winners got an automatic berth regardless of record or Conference.

Hey Joshua, Buonarroti, or whatever the hell your name is, I don't have cable or satellite. I'm poor and have regular old 13 channel network TV. I'm not bitching about what I don't have, I'm bitching about what was taken away from me. I used to be able to see all kinds of Big Ten games on ABC and ESPN+ before the BTN. Since then, all of those games are gone, and now I get to watch MAC and Big East games. And if you've read any of the michigan blogs (including this one), and message boards you'd realize there isn't much of a love fest for the BTN. Also, before you assume anything about me bitching about something I don't have, why don't you ask a question instead of looking like an ass. You know what happens when you assume don't you...ASS U...

Also, there isn't even any doubt the SEC is the best coference TOP TO BOTTOM. They may not have the best team, or the team that will win the MNC or they might, but "overall" they're the best conference so I really don't get the whole SEC kool-aid analogy. Sounds like sour grapes to me. Until the Big Ten produces more than 2-3 (really 1 this year)teams that are national contenders they will continue to be looked down upon, regardless of bowl records. This isn't the SEC's fault, they're doing their job. Blame the fans and the media if you want, but not the conference. We need teams like Iowa, Penn St., and Wisconsin to show up. Hell we need Michigan to show up. OSU, as much as it pains me to say it, is the only team in the conference not regularly pulling a choke job.

As I recall Bo preached about "the team, the team, the team," not the conference, the conference, the conference.

From Mikoyan:: "Akron: Beat Western Michigan, who beat Iowa, who beat Illinois, who beat Ohio State"

I live right by Akron U and have been going to their games since I was very little. Anyway Akron played tOSU this season and at halftime of that game it was 3-2 tOSU over Akron. If not for Akron's complete lack of a decent qb they could have easily upset tOSU in that game. Their defense dominated them the first half and finally wore themselves out by the end of the game. Screw this year's NC game. I'll be watching a movie, or sleeping, or probably working who know.

On the lighter side speaking of Akron U all fans attending the Capital One Bowl will get to see Zippy the Akron U mascot crowned as the winner of the Capital One Mascot Challenge. He went through the regular season a perfect 11-0 (something football teams couldn't do this year) and is now in the Semifinals but blowing away his competition. He will face either Goldy Gopher (please) or the GA Bulldawg (whatever his name is.) Vote Zippy on www.capitalonebowl.com

Rooting for a conference rival... hmm.Not sure what to make of that. Our biggest rival is Clemson, but they're not in our conference. I want them to lose any time they take the field. I want to kick in the TV when the news lady says their students beat SC's students in the annual blood drive. I'll boo when their research faculty discover the secret to world peace.

Now, a conference foe... Would I root for Tenn in a MNC game against a team from another conference? Part of me likes to see the SEC do good, but the other part doesn't want to root for a team that beat us. It's like you trying to be friends with the school bully that just gave you a wedgie in front of the bleachers at a pep rally. F that. I'd want that bully to fall flat on his face. Michigan fans rooting for tOSU is rooting for the school bully. Yay Beer, making white guys dance for years.

I was just looking through some numbers over the past 10 years and the SEC has not fared as well as the Kool-Aid drinkers think against the B10 in bowl games. In fact, if it wasn't for tOSU (and especially back to back losses to S. Carolina), the SEC really doesn't have a thing to brag about.

bigassham... what do you suppose is the over/under on the number times ESPN shows the blocked FG during the course of the broadcast on Friday?

If you are a Michigan fan and you root for Ohio State, you are an idiot. It's b.s. to root for your rival for the strength of your conference. If you want the Big Ten to be strong, then root for your team to make do it's part to make it strong. But this doesn't mean that you have to root for your hated rival. Want to know what the SEC is touted as the strongest conference in America? Because they are! You think that Georgia fans root for Florida? Or Auburn fans root for Alabama? Hell no! Mind you (and I am a diehard Michigan fan), that Ohio State HAS done its part in making the Big Ten look strong, and Michigan hasn't. We've dropped every big nonconference game in recent memory (save, ND, which aside from tradition isn't that big of a game anymore). Comeon Wolverines, GO LSU!!!!

"I see your point. However, by stating it you also inadvertently state that Michigan is nothing without Ohio players. Ohio is a fertile field of talent, but you really don't believe Michigan is dependent on Ohio boys for success?

That kind of blows the "we're an elite program that draws players from around the country" mantra.""

All those players come from Ohio... there's lots more too.. but those are the most notable ones.

If we keep getting our asses handed down to us by OSU every year, it's going to get even worse because we won't be able to recruit the good Ohio players we're used to get every single year. To top it off, players from other states will be more likely to go to OSU than UM..

Lets be honest with ourselves.. the UofM name doesn't sell instantly regardless of the circumstances anymore. No kid will pick a school that lost to App. State over a school that won the natl. championship that same year unless he lives in Michigan.

MGoBlue - that's true and know one disputes that well known fact. However, I submit that SEC teams, especially the traditional powers (all but Miss St, Miss, Arky, SC, and Vandy) usually don't give a shit about a bowl game unless it's the MNC once the SEC championship is over. I think lots of schools much rather get the extra month of practice and plan on next season than get up for a meaningless bowl game. Plus, I would even admit that a high percentage of SEC athletes haven't ever been given the chance to visit a nice bowl destination as a tourist and with a chance to party like rock stars, so that too may be on their minds.It's the fans that would like to see them beat OOC foes in a bowl game more so than typical SEC athletes. Yes, this is not a good quality to have, but I have to suspect a lot of this is true.

I hope Ohio St. whoops LSU. Miles is a douche and I can't stand the SEC. I hope not only Ohio St., but Wisconsin and obviously Michigan beat their SEC opponents to shut up SEC fans. Last year the Big Ten was 2 for 3 against the SEC (Penn St. beat Tenn. & Wisconsin beat Arkansas; Florida beat Ohio St.). Hopefully this year the Big Ten can go 3 for 3 against the SEC.

I laughed my ass off when SCUM got beat down by App however I was rooting for you bastards (only because it was in my best interest to do so.) It was very hard so I can appreciate what you are going through right now (not that I care.)

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